This invention relates to a light curing device and in particular to a disposable light guide or probe suitable for dental curing purposes.
In photocuring, particularly for dental photocuring purposes, commonly a stationary or Dartable light generating device is used. For convenience in manipulation, in the portable light generating device, light is provided by a hand-held gun unit which generates the light suitable for dental curing. The gun unit may be operated by alternating current power or by direct current power supplied by a rechargeable battery power. A relatively short light guide or probe is removably mounted at the front end of the un unit for transmitting the curing light from the gun unit to the location at which photocuring is required. For a system with a stationary light generating device, the light is transmitted from the light generator by an elongated flexible guide to the curing location. A short guide or probe again may be adapted at the free end of the elongated light guide for carrying out the light curing operation at a location remote from the stationary light generator. The short probe or guide is made of a plurality of optical fibres fused in a glass cladding which maintains the optical fibres in a compact composite bundle. The composite bundle is then covered in a protective sheathing material which also prevents the light travelling through the guide from leaking through its peripheral surface. Silicon or glass or metal is commonly used as the sheathing material for such guides. Such guide or probe construction is, for example, shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,846,546 by Joseph Cuda. The main drawbacks of such common guide or probe are that they are expensive and difficult to fabricate; and furthermore, the sheathing and cladding deteriorate rapidly under repeated autoclaving sterilization operation particularly when the sterilization operation may not be properly carried out in a general dental office. The sterilization is essential to prevent the transmission of disease virus from a contaminated probe to a patient. Also, such glass cladded probe or guide, particularly after subjected to repeated autoclaving sterilization operations, is breakable, so that it presents a hazard to the patient during use as the breakage of the glass components can occur when the probe is located in the patient's mouth cavity.